Nketiah knocks Fulham out of the cup

Crystal Palace needed a result that didn't depend on the Premier League table, where results have been hard to come by this season. The Carabao Cup offered exactly that, and Nketiah delivered the decisive moment away at Fulham, according to Sky Sports, with his finish standing up as the only goal of the tie.

It's the kind of night Glasner's side can actually enjoy without overthinking it. League form has been a struggle, but knockout football resets everything. One goal, one clean sheet at the other end, and suddenly there's a quarter-final to look forward to.

A goal Nketiah needed

For a striker, confidence is currency, and Nketiah's winner at Craven Cottage is the sort of goal that can loosen things up elsewhere. Sky Sports' report on the match framed it as the moment that separated two sides who had been difficult to split, with Fulham unable to find a way back after going behind.

A trip to Craven Cottage was never going to be straightforward, but Nketiah made sure it didn't need to be.

Bournemouth keep the run going

Elsewhere, Bournemouth added another result to an increasingly eye-catching cup campaign, beating Aston Villa to reach the same stage. Sky Sports described Bournemouth as in-form heading into the tie, and seeing off a side like Villa, who operate well above them in reputation if not always in current league position, only adds to that reading.

No scoreline or goalscorer details have been confirmed beyond the result itself, but the context is clear enough: Bournemouth have made a habit of knocking out sides they're not supposed to beat, and this is another one for the pile.

What it means

Both Palace and Bournemouth now sit among the sides left standing in the quarter-final draw, a stage that often tells you more about squad depth than raw quality. For Glasner, a run in the Carabao Cup won't fix what's gone wrong in the Premier League, but it buys something rarer this season: a dressing room with a reason to smile.